Kerrville’s Elizabeth Rose Williams pleaded guilty on Thursday to a misdemeanor charge related to the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump.
Williams accepted a plea agreement with the U.S. Justice Department on Jan. 31 for her role in the attack on the capitol. Williams, along with her then-boyfriend, Bradley Barrett, were caught on video entering the Capitol. The couple also posted photos of themselves on social media, which were later turned over to the FBI.
Williams will have to pay $500 toward repairs to the Capitol and could still face six months in prison when she is sentenced in May. Williams pleaded guilty to a Class B misdemeanor, which has a minimum sentence of at least 30 days in prison. However, under Williams’ plea agreement she agreed that those minimum standards do not apply.
Sentencing Guidelines Do Not Apply
Your client understands that the sentence in this case will be determined by the Court, pursuant to the factors set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). Your client further understands that 40 U.S.C. § 5104(e)(2)(G) is a class B misdemeanor, as defined by 18 U.S.C. § 3559(a)(7). Accordingly, pursuant to § 1B1.9 of the United States Sentencing Commission, Guidelines Manual (2018), the sentencing guidelines do not apply to your client’s sentencing.
In some of the cases involving the capitol rioters, judges have been unwilling to sentence on the minimum standards, according to Feb. 4 article in Politico. In Williams’ case she pleaded guilty to “parading and demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building,” and the sentencing has varied, according to a Politico database.
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In one instance, federal prosecutors recommended a defendant receive 36 months of supervised probation but the judge delivered a harsher sentence, which included 14 days of incarceration.
In Thursday’s video conference, Williams appeared in front of federal Judge James Boasberg, who has questioned other federal prosecutors about not applying more stringent sentencing requests. “There is a strong argument that anyone who was there that day deserves jail,” Boasberg said in the Politico article.
Williams will appear in front of Boasberg at noon on May 6 for sentencing. Since Boasberg is part of the U.S. District Course in the District of Columbia, the sentencing will take place over Zoom.
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Williams has lived in Kerrville since 2014, is active in a variety of community functions and is an accomplished singer. She’s styled herself as a “lifestyle coach” and has sold essential oils. She recently attended the Republican Women of Kerr County luncheon.
Before Jan. 6, she was romantically involved with Brad Bennett, a North Carolina man who moved to Kerrville to be with Williams. The pair, along with others from Kerr County, traveled to Washington, D.C. to participate in a Jan. 6 rally that was hosted by President Donald Trump — a rally that morphed into a march on the Capitol and eventually the attack on the building itself. At least five people died as a result of the attack, including one police officer.
Williams and Bennett posted photos and videos from the day on social media accounts, and they were later captured inside the Capitol by security cameras and by photojournalists who were inside the building. In its timeline, the FBI provided six photos of Williams or Bennet, along with social media posts and text messages.
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Initially, Bennett and Williams’ cases were linked together but the couple parted ways and in April the two cases were separated. Bennett, who has since returned to North Carolina, is still awaiting trial.
